airbag off SATURN SKY 2007 Owners Manual

Questions and Answers About
Safety Belts
Q:Will I be trapped in the vehicle after an
accident if I am wearing a safety belt?
A:Youcouldbe — whether you are wearing a
safety belt or not. But you can unbuckle a
safety belt, even if you are upside down.
And your chance of being conscious during
and after an accident, so youcanunbuckle
and get out, ismuchgreater if you are belted.
Q:If my vehicle has airbags, why should
I have to wear safety belts?
A:Airbags are supplemental systems only; so
they workwithsafety belts — not instead of
them. Every airbag system ever offered
for sale has required the use of safety belts.
Even if you are in a vehicle that has airbags,
you still have to buckle up to get the most
protection. That is true not only in frontal
collisions, but especially in side and other
collisions.
Q:If I am a good driver, and I never drive far
from home, why should I wear safety belts?
A:You may be an excellent driver, but if you are
in an accident — even one that is not your
fault — you and your passenger can be hurt.
Being a good driver does not protect you
from things beyond your control, such as
bad drivers.
Most accidents occur within 25 miles (40 km)
of home. And the greatest number of
serious injuries and deaths occur at speeds
of less than 40 mph (65 km/h).
Safety belts are for everyone.
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{CAUTION:
Children who are up against, or very
close to, any airbag when it inates can
be seriously injured or killed. Airbags
plus lap-shoulder belts offer protection
for adults and older children, but
not for young children and infants.
Neither the vehicle’s safety belt system
nor its airbag system is designed for
them. Young children and infants need
the protection that a child restraint
system can provide.
Q:What are the different types of add-on
child restraints?
A:Add-on child restraints, which are purchased
by the vehicle’s owner, are available in
four basic types. Selection of a particular
restraint should take into consideration
not only the child’s weight, height, and age
but also whether or not the restraint will
be compatible with the motor vehicle in which
it will be used.
For most basic types of child restraints, there
are many different models available. When
purchasing a child restraint, be sure it is
designed to be used in a motor vehicle. If it is,
the restraint will have a label saying that it
meets federal motor vehicle safety standards.
The restraint manufacturer’s instructions
that come with the restraint state the weight
and height limitations for a particular child
restraint. In addition, there are many kinds
of restraints available for children with
special needs.
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Lower Anchors and Tethers for
Children (LATCH)
Some child restraints have a LATCH system.
As part of the LATCH system, your child restraint
may have lower attachments and/or a top
tether. The LATCH system can help hold the
child restraint in place during driving or in a crash.
Some vehicles have lower and/or top tether
anchors designed to secure a child restraint with
lower attachments and/or a top tether.
Some child restraints with a top tether are
designed to be used whether the top tether is
anchored or not. Other child restraints require that
the top tether be anchored. A national or local
law may require that the top tether be anchored.
In Canada, the law requires that forward-facing
child restraints have a top tether, and that
the tether be attached.
Your vehicle does not have lower anchors or
top tether anchors to secure a child restraint
with the LATCH system. If a national or local
law requires that your top tether be anchored, do
not use a child restraint in this vehicle because
a top tether cannot be properly anchored.You must use the safety belts to secure your child
restraint in this vehicle, unless a national or
local law requires that the top tether be anchored.
Refer to your child restraint instructions and
instructions in this manual for securing a child
restraint using the vehicle’s safety belts.
Securing a Child Restraint in the
Passenger Seat Position
Your vehicle has a passenger’s airbag. In addition,
your vehicle has the passenger sensing system.
The passenger sensing system is designed to
turn off the passenger’s frontal airbag when
an infant in a rear-facing infant seat or a small
child in a forward-facing child restraint or booster
seat is detected. SeePassenger Sensing
System on page 50andPassenger Airbag Status
Indicator on page 131for more information on
this including important safety information.
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{CAUTION:
A child in a rear-facing child restraint
can be seriously injured or killed if the
right front passenger’s airbag inates.
This is because the back of the rear
facing child restraint would be very close
to the inating airbag. Be sure the airbag
is off before using a rear-facing child
restraint in the passenger’s position.
Even though the passenger sensing
system is designed to turn off the
passenger’s frontal airbag if the system
detects a rear-facing child restraint, no
system is fail-safe, and no one can
guarantee that an airbag will
not deploy under some unusual
circumstance, even though it is turned off.
CAUTION: (Continued)
CAUTION: (Continued)
We recommend that rear-facing child
restraints be transported in vehicles
with a rear seat that will accommodate
a rear-facing child restraint, whenever
possible.
There is no top strap anchor in your vehicle.
Do not secure a child seat in your vehicle
if a national or local law requires that the top
strap be anchored, or if the instructions that come
with the child restraint say that the top strap
must be anchored. SeeLower Anchors and
Tethers for Children (LATCH) on page 38for
more information.
If you need to secure a forward-facing child
restraint in the passenger’s position, move the
seat as far back as it will go before securing the
forward-facing child restraint. SeeManual Seats
on page 8.
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You will be using the lap-shoulder belt to secure
the child restraint in this position. Be sure to follow
the instructions that came with the child restraint.
Secure the child in the child restraint when and as
the instructions say.
1. Your vehicle has a passenger’s frontal airbag.
SeePassenger Sensing System on page 50.
We recommend that rear-facing child
restraints not be transported in your vehicle,
even if the airbag is off. If your child restraint
is forward-facing, move the seat as far
back as it will go before securing the child
restraint in this seat. SeeManual Seats
on page 8.
When the passenger sensing system has
turned off the passenger’s frontal airbag, the
off indicator in the passenger airbag status
indicator should light and stay lit when
the vehicle is started. SeePassenger
Airbag Status Indicator on page 131.
2. Put the child restraint on the seat.3. Pick up the latch plate, and run the lap and
shoulder portions of the vehicle’s safety belt
through or around the restraint. The child
restraint instructions will show you how.
4. Buckle the belt. Make sure the release button
is positioned so you would be able to unbuckle
the safety belt quickly if you ever had to.
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7. Push and pull the child restraint in different
directions to be sure it is secure.
8. If the airbag is off, the off indicator on the
instrument panel will be lit and stay lit
when the vehicle is started.
If a child restraint has been installed and the on
indicator is lit, turn the vehicle off. Remove
the child restraint from the vehicle and reinstall
the child restraint.
If, after reinstalling the child restraint and restarting
the vehicle, the on indicator is still lit, check to
make sure that the vehicle’s seatback is not
pressing the child restraint into the seat cushion.
If this happens, slightly recline the vehicle’s
seatback and adjust the seat cushion if possible.A thick layer of additional material such as a
blanket, or aftermarket equipment such as seat
covers, seat heaters and seat massagers, located
between the seat cushion and the child restraint
or small occupant, can affect how the passenger
sensing system operates. Remove any additional
material from the seat cushion before reinstalling
or securing the child restraint and before a
small occupant, including a small adult, sits in
the passenger position.
If the on indicator is still lit, do not install a child
restraint in this vehicle and check with your retailer.
To remove the child restraint, just unbuckle the
vehicle’s safety belt and let it go back all the way.
The safety belt will move freely again and be
ready to work for an adult or larger child
passenger.
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{CAUTION:
Airbags inate with great force, faster
than the blink of an eye. If you are too
close to an inating airbag, as you would
be if you were leaning forward, it could
seriously injure you. Safety belts help
keep you in position before and during a
crash. Always wear your safety belt, even
with airbags. The driver should sit as far
back as possible while still maintaining
control of the vehicle.
{CAUTION:
Anyone who is up against, or very close to,
any airbag when it inates can be seriously
injured or killed. Airbags plus lap-shoulder
belts offer the best protection for adults,
but not for young children and infants.
Neither the vehicle’s safety belt system nor
its airbag system is designed for them.
Young children and infants need the
protection that a child restraint system can
provide. Always secure children properly
in your vehicle. To read how, seeOlder
Children on page 28andInfants and Young
Children on page 30.
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{CAUTION:
When an airbag inates, there may be
dust in the air. This dust could cause
breathing problems for people with a
history of asthma or other breathing
trouble. To avoid this, everyone in the
vehicle should get out as soon as it is
safe to do so. If you have breathing
problems but cannot get out of the
vehicle after an airbag inates, then get
fresh air by opening a window or a door.
If you experience breathing problems
following an airbag deployment, you
should seek medical attention.
Your vehicle has a feature that may automatically
unlock the doors, turn the interior lamps on,
and turn the hazard warning ashers on when
the airbags inate. You can lock the doors again,
turn the interior lamps off, and turn the hazard
warning ashers off by using the controls for
those features.In many crashes severe enough to inate an
airbag, windshields are broken by vehicle
deformation. Additional windshield breakage
may also occur from the right front passenger
airbag.
Airbags are designed to inate only once.
After they inate, you will need some new
parts for the airbag system. If you do not get
them, the airbag system will not be there
to help protect you in another crash. A new
system will include airbag modules and
possibly other parts. The service manual
for your vehicle covers the need to replace
other parts.
Your vehicle has a crash sensing and
diagnostic module which records information
after a crash. SeeVehicle Data Collection
and Event Data Recorders on page 363.
Let only qualied technicians work on the
airbag system. Improper service can mean
that an airbag system will not work properly.
See your retailer for service.
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Passenger Sensing System
Your vehicle has a passenger sensing system.
The passenger airbag status indicator will be
visible when you turn your ignition key to
RUN or START.
The words ON and OFF or the symbol for on
and off, will be visible on the instrument panel
during the system check. When the system check
is complete, either the word ON or the word
OFF, or the symbol for on or the symbol for off will
be visible. SeePassenger Airbag Status Indicator
on page 131.The passenger sensing system will turn off the
passenger’s frontal airbag under certain conditions.
The driver’s airbag is not part of the passenger
sensing system.
The passenger sensing system works with
sensors that are part of the passenger’s seat.
The sensors are designed to detect the presence
of a properly-seated occupant and determine if
the passenger’s frontal airbag should be enabled
(may inate) or not.
Accident statistics show that children are safer
if they are restrained in the rear rather than
the front seat. We recommend that rear-facing
child restraints not be transported in your vehicle,
even if the airbag is off.
Never put a child in a rear-facing child restraint
in the right front passenger seat unless the
passenger airbag status indicator shows off
and the airbag is off. Here is why:
United StatesCanada
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{CAUTION:
A child in a rear-facing child restraint can
be seriously injured or killed if the right
front passenger’s airbag inates. This is
because the back of the rear-facing child
restraint would be very close to the
inating airbag. Be sure the airbag is off
before using a rear-facing child restraint
in the right front seat position.
Even though the passenger sensing
system is designed to turn off the
passenger’s frontal airbag if the system
detects a rear-facing child restraint, no
system is fail-safe, and no one can
guarantee that an airbag will not deploy
under some unusual circumstance, even
though it is turned off. We recommend
that rear-facing child restraints be
transported in vehicles with a rear seat
that will accommodate a rear-facing child
restraint, whenever possible.
CAUTION: (Continued)
CAUTION: (Continued)
If you need to secure a forward-facing
child restraint in the right front seat,
always move the front passenger seat
as far back as it will go. It is better to
secure the child restraint in a rear seat.
The passenger sensing system is designed to
turn off the passenger’s frontal airbag if:
The passenger seat is unoccupied.
The system determines that an infant is
present in a rear-facing infant seat.
The system determines that a small child is
present in a forward-facing child restraint.
The system determines that a small child is
present in a booster seat.
A passenger takes his/her weight off of the
seat for a period of time.
The passenger seat is occupied by a smaller
person, such as a child who has outgrown
child restraints.
Or, if there is a critical problem with the airbag
system or the passenger sensing system.
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